[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 62 (Thursday, March 30, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16956-16957]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-7876]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[CO-120-00-1610-DH-241A]


Notice of Availability of Proposed Resource Management Plan 
Amendments for Kremmling Field Office Resource Management Plan

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notices of Availability.

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SUMMARY: The Kremmling Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management is 
proposing to make two amendments to the Kremmling Resource Management 
Plan (RMP). One amendment would establish management direction for 
lands recently acquired through land acquisitions. The other amendment 
would expand the boundary of the Upper Colorado River Special 
Recreation Management Area (SRMA) and consider management changes for 
the SRMA. The amendments only affect public lands in the Kremmling 
Field

[[Page 16957]]

Office, and would have no affect on private lands.

ADDRESSES: For further information contact Dave Atkins, Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM), 2815 H Road, Grand Junction, Colorado 81505; 
Telephone (970) 244-3074.

DATES: The final decision on the amendments will be made following a 
60-day Governor's Consistency Review, a 30-day protest period, and 
resolution of inconsistencies and protests, if any. The 30-day protest 
period is initiated by this notice.

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION: Notices of Intent for these two Plan 
amendments were published in the Federal Register on August 26, 1999. 
All comments received as a result of the Notices were considered in 
preparation of the Plan amendments and environmental assessments.
    The first Plan amendment would establish land use planning 
prescriptions and land use priorities for fourteen separate parcels of 
land acquired by the Kremmling Field Office since the Kremmling RMP was 
completed in 1984. The RMP amendment would also facilitate establishing 
land management prescriptions and land use priorities for future land 
acquisitions during the environmental analysis process associated with 
each specific land acquisition.
    The second Plan amendment would expand the boundary of the Upper 
Colorado River Special Recreation Management Area (SRMA) and consider 
management changes for the SRMA. The specific management changes 
include the following:
    #1. Modify the boundary of the SRMA. The current SRMA boundary 
would be expanded to approximately \1/2\ mile each side of the Colorado 
river, and would be extended approximately 7\1/2\ miles upstream to 
near Reeder Creek.
    #2. Land use priorities would be changed for some public lands in 
the proposed SRMA. Of the 12,237 acres of public land in the SRMA, 
approximately 8,787 acres would be identified as a recreation priority, 
2,542 acres as a wildlife priority, 833 acres as a soil priority, 35 
acres as a protected area priority, and 40 acres with no priority. In 
addition, 20.8 miles of the Colorado River and associated tributaries 
would be designated as a water priority.
    #3. Because of the recreation emphasis of the SRMA, the amendment 
would also address enlarging the existing No Surface Occupancy (NSO) 
area for oil and gas development within the river corridor, to that of 
the new SRMA boundary. This would result in 12,237 acres of NSO within 
the SRMA. There are currently 4,870 acres of NSO within the boundary of 
the existing SRMA boundary. Consequently, this action would increase 
the acreage of NSO by 7,367 acres. The amendment would also ensure that 
any future lands within the SRMA that are acquired by the Federal 
government would have an NSO stipulation for oil and gas development. 
There would be no affect on these lands unless acquired by the Federal 
government.
    #4. The amendment would also withdraw the entire 12,237 acres of 
Federal surface estate within the SRMA from settlement, sale, location, 
or entry under the general land laws, including the mining laws. It 
would also withdraw 1,020 acres of private or state land with Federal 
minerals. The amendment would also identify additional private or State 
owned lands within the SRMA that would be withdrawn from the lands and 
mining laws if they were ever acquired by the Federal government. By 
including these private lands at this time, they would automatically be 
withdrawn if acquired by the Federal Government. There would be no 
affect on the private lands unless they were acquired by the Federal 
Government.
    The above two alternatives as well as the no action alternative 
were analyzed in the environmental assessments associated with the 
amendments of the RMP.
    The Bureau's planning regulations (43 CFR 1610.5-2) provide protest 
procedures for persons adversely affected by the approval of RMP 
amendments. Any person who participated in the planning process and has 
an interest which is or may be adversely affected by the amendment of 
an RMP may protest such amendments. A protest may only raise those 
issues which were submitted for the record during the planning process. 
The protest shall be in writing and shall be filed with the Director. 
The protest must be filed within 30 days of the date of this notice. 
Protests shall be filled with: Director, Bureau of Land Management, 
Attention: Ms Brenda Williams, Protest Coordinator (WO-210), WO-210/LS-
1075, Department of the Interior, Washington DC 20240.
    The overnight mail address is: Director, Bureau of Land Management, 
Attention: Ms Brenda Williams, Protest Coordinator (WO-210), 1620 L 
Street, NW, Rm. 1075, Washington, DC 20036, [Phone: 202/452-5110].

    Dated: March 24, 2000.
Linda M. Gross,
Kremmling Field Manager.
[FR Doc. 00-7876 Filed 3-29-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-JB-P